Lenience on XR ‘stirs up civil disobedience’
CPS decision not to contest quashed convictions gives eco-protesters licence to disrupt, says policing chief
THE Crown Prosecution Service’s decision not to appeal against the quashed convictions of Extinction Rebellion protesters has set a “dangerous precedent” that could result in civil disobedience being decriminalised, a senior policing chief has warned.
In an article for The Sunday Telegraph, David Lloyd, police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Hertfordshire, defends proposed new laws for policing protests that he claims will protect the public from “intimidating” and “highly disruptive” demonstrations like those of Extinction Rebellion.
Mr Lloyd, lead spokesman for the Association of PCCs on criminal justice, said the 35-year-old legislation was “out of date” and tipped the balance in favour of protesters at the expense of the law-abiding “silent majority” whose lives could be disrupted for weeks at a time by protests.
It follows the quashing last week of the conviction of a third Extinction Rebellion protester, Amelia Halls, 23, who was told by the Old Bailey judge that she should not have been given a criminal record for obstructing a road during a 2019 demonstration.
The CPS told the judge, Mark Dennis, QC, that it would not challenge Ms Halls’ appeal. At least seven more Extinction Rebellion-related appeals are due before courts shortly.
Mr Lloyd wrote: “This week has seen another three Extinction Rebellion protesters have their convictions quashed for lying down in the road to cause disruption. The decision of the CPS not to contest these appeals sets a perilous precedent which could see the decriminalising of civil disobedience.”
Mr Lloyd said the Government’s proposed changes would make it easier for the police to intervene and break up a static demonstration where it caused a public nuisance.
“Many of these demonstrations are intimidating to communities and there needs to be a balance struck between those who want to protest peacefully, and those who want to disrupt the lives of those around them hours, days or weeks at a time,” he said.
He cited Extinction Rebellion’s blockade of newspaper print presses at Broxbourne, in his police area of Hertfordshire, which, he said, not only put the livelihoods of workers at risk but was also “a clear attack on the free press”. In other incidents, Extinction Rebellion had prevented hundreds of thousands of commuters from getting to or from work after it vowed to “shut down the heart of the capital”.
“Far too often, these disrupters expect the full protection of the law, while ignoring the legitimate rights of others,” Mr Lloyd wrote. “Many of these demonstrations are intimidating to communities and there needs to be a balance struck between those who want to protest peacefully, and those who want to disrupt the lives of those around them hours, days or weeks at a time.”
Changes in legislation would enable police to impose conditions to prevent unjustifiably noisy protests that cause harm to others or prevent an organisation from operating. “No one wants to see restrictions put on a peaceful protest but some scenes played out in the past few years have undermined public confidence in the police. Mob rule must not gain the upper hand,” he said.
Mr Lloyd said the legislation did not seek to smother the “legitimate, hardwon and cherished” right to free speech despite the “clamour from the outrageously named Kill the Bill brigade”.
Instead, the proposals in the Policing, Sentencing and Courts Bill would “strengthen police powers to tackle non-violent protests and allow them to take a more proactive approach to highly disruptive demonstrations”.